Bubblegum Run
by Freddy Isnot
Summary: What do you do when your own self insert character drags you and a friend into another world?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer Bubblegum Crisis is licensed by AnimEigo under master license from Youmex. I am not using it or its characters for profit, nor do I intend to. Aldo, Andrew Bower, and Freddy Isnot are the property of their respective selves.

Night fell on the city. And dark rolling clouds gathered. Wind began to blow on the rooftops. Playing in the swaying antennas

The day had been calm. People went about their business in the city: going to work, eating, driving the busy streets with super-efficient electric cars. Perhaps the most unusual aspect of the day was how little happened. For the most part crime was down, births were nearly zero, and only two elderly folks died in the city. They passed away in their beds in two separate hospitals surrounded by their loved ones. Evil mega-corporation activity was subdued. No mad geniuses were on the loose. The news stations attempted to make a flower arrangement competition into an exciting event to obtain viewers.

The day was peaceful. A few people more in touch with the world were made uneasy. A feeling in the back of their heads reminded them of the quiet before the storm.

Lightning flashed as the clouds began swirling. Jumping from cloud to cloud the flashes of electrical discharge lit the sky. Wind began to whip antennas wildly.

People hurried indoors to avoid the electrical storm. Soon the streets were empty of life. Only a few vehicles dared to venture out into the storm.

Lighting struck a rooftop. Once, twice!

And as quickly as it had started the storm broke up, leaving the sky clear again. Nothing but twinkling stars watched the two new souls in the universe slumber, and the city of Megatokyo wondered at this mystifying portent.

A.T. Productions Presents

Another SI fanfic

Bubblegum Run

By Freddy Isnot

Morning

The mid-morning sun warmed the air, causing a slight breeze that disturbed the clothing of the two bodies lying on a Megatokyo apartment roof.

One body groaned and rolled over. An arm drew closer a black, nondescript backpack being used as a pillow. The other slapped loosely against the concrete.

Wait... Concrete?

Two eyes snapped open revealing brown irises, and the body jerked to a sitting position.

"Huh?!" As he took in his situation, Aldo Toomepuu, age 21, tried to remember where he fell asleep and reconcile it with his current surroundings. Further confusion ensued when he came up with a big question mark.

"A rooftop, okay. And those are solar panels. Wow, those musta cost a lot." Aldo jumped to his feet and peered closer at the panels that took up most of the roof. "Huh, really dirty though." He sniffed the air experimentally, "and this place smells funky. Funny, I don't remember falling asleep, though I usually don't remember falling asleep." He slowly turned taking in the cityscape. "Hmm, is this Chicago? I'm almost positive that this isn't where I fell asleep, though I have been known to forget..." The rustle of cloth captured Aldo's attention and he turn to locate the source of the distraction. "Who?" He stepped over and crouched over the sleeping person for a better look. He began muttering as he took a description.

"Short brown hair, glasses, a fair bit taller, hugging a black backpack, and wearing shorts? That has to be Andy." He used his foot to turn the person over to see the face. "Yep, that explains a lot. YO! Andy!" He nudged his friend in the ribs with the foot. "Where are we, and how did you get us here?"

"Uhhh? Aldo?" Awareness was slowly being pounded into his friend's head.

"CITY! ROOFTOP! UNCONCIOUSNESS!" Aldo punctuated each word with restrained kick to the ribs. "This is your fault, ain't it?"

Andy finally rolled away and sat up. "What, erg..." He caught sight of his surroundings. "Hey, don't being blaming this on me! This is the sort of thing you'd do."

"Yeah, and it's just the sort of thing I'd blame on you to get out trouble, but I didn't do it. Therefore you must have actually done it... for once."

"Maybe it was monkeys... Flying purple monkeys. With jet packs, of course, and they..."

Aldo stared at Andy. "You're rather perky for having just woken up." He turned away and something caught his eye as Andy kept rambling. "Andy... Andy!" Once he had Andy's attention Aldo pointed, "Look at that. Do you recognize it?"

"Huh?" Andy stood and turned to follow the finger though he hardly had to. The building was the largest thing in sight, towering up to the clouds and occupying a couple square miles. "That thing is huge. It has to be a mile high. I never heard of a building that tall."

"It's GENOM tower. Andy, we're in Megatokyo." Aldo said with a strain of worry in his voice.

"Megatokyo?"

Aldo half screamed in exasperation. "Andy! I know I've shown this anime to you!" He pounded a fist against the roof's ledge. "Argh! Bubblegum Crisis! Remember when I showed you that series with the Knight Sabers--chicks in power armor with high heels--and the Boomers, and everything?"

"Ah, cool." Andy nodded his head in recognition. "Does that mean I get an armored power suit? Blow stuff up, yeah."

His friend dropped his head, letting it hang. "Andy, if you recall Bubblegum Crisis has the nasty tendency of KILLING OFF SECONDARY CHARACTERS!"

Andy raised his hands in denial. "Hey, no way, this can't really be real. It's just a dream, or a joke, or something... Ow!" He rubbed his arm where Aldo had slugged him.

"Mr. Bower, take a look at this place, feel the pain in your arm, doesn't it suck? Just like reality can sometimes."

"Geez, stop being so dramatic."

"Heh, yeah, sorry, don't know what came over me. Just felt the need to be silly. Anyway, now that that's over let's go."

"Where to? You don't happen to have a car?"

"A little road march ain't gonna hurt us. There has to be a library somewhere."

The main written language was an odd English/Romanized Japanese mix. Andy snickered and called it "Engrish" until Aldo brained him with a dictionary. A real shock came when they realized that everyone was speaking Japanese, and they could not only understand but also speak it. They still had problems with some forms of the written Japanese language, their newfound abilities had not provided reading skills for Kanji or the other traditional written Japanese. But those were more for traditional authors and wasn't all that common in modern literature.

Aldo carried another stack of printed newspapers into the study room they'd managed to find in the library. It had the advantage of a soundproof door that could be closed, and a computer with net access. He dropped the stack on the table next to the computer. "Well, we know it is the year twenty-thirty. Great, so that should give us some time. Um, Andy, do a search for the Knight Sabers. I'm gonna start looking up GENOM and everything else. Make sure that this actually is Bubblegum Crisis."

Looking up from his attempt to apply his decades-outdated computer skills on the public terminal, Andy frowned, "What? You're not sure if this is..."

"Just 'cuz we saw a building that looks like GENOM tower, and we happen to be in Megatokyo, and it is two years before the anime begins doesn't mean that we are in Bubblegum Crisis."

"You could have fooled me."

"Yeah, well after we'll be able to figure things out soon enough. If there is one anime I know well it is BGC. "

"I still think this is a dream or something."

"Can't believe your eyes?"

"But this can't be real." Andy protested. "I know I watched the anime, but those were just stories. How could we be here?"

"Maybe God has given us a mission?"

"Wha?"

"I've been thinking, and praying. This has to be a miracle. I don't know why God chose us, but that is the only thing I can think of. There are no freak accidents in the world." Aldo turned and leaned back on the table using his arms to prop himself up, looking down at Andy he continued. "To be honest, I've always prayed for something like this. You can't imagine how happy I am that this happened. God finally answe..." He choked off the rest of his sentence and looked away. A hand removed his glasses and rubbed at his closed eyes.

Andy looked at Aldo wonderingly. "Aldo?"

Aldo replaced the glasses. "Ahem." He cleared his throat and pushed off of the table, taking a step before facing Andy again. "This is just so cool!" He enthused. All emotions washed off his face in favor of excitement. "I can't wait to explore this new world and do God's will!"

Andy stared at Aldo. "Do we know what God's will is?"

Aldo frowned, "I think it would be obvious; how many people die in Bubblegum Crisis that could have been saved? God must want us to save them."

"So are we going to go to the Knight Sabers? Tell them what we know?"

"Why would they believe us? And if they know about us do you think they'll let us interfere?" Aldo shook his head. "Better if we don't involve ourselves directly with them."

Andy pouted, a ridiculous look on a grown man. "Aww, I wanted to have my own hardsuit. A chance to blow stuff up."

"Yeah, I know. Something I think that is the only reason you like anime, because of the giant mecha."

"No, no, no. Not true..." Andy paused, "It is for the giant humanoid mecha."

"Of course. Well, maybe we can get a hold of the D.D. and name it Shelia."

"I think I'd like that."

The librarians finally had to kick the two out fifteen minutes after closing time. Between them they had their backpacks full of papers pilfered from the printers with timelines, ideas, names, addresses, and other information painstakingly copied.

"Okay, now we need to find someplace to stay for the night."

"How about the rooftop again?"

"We're not... Okay, maybe we are homeless bums right now. But we've got money, we'll get a hotel room or something. Let's start walking."

Andy began flipping through his notebook. "I got that listing for apartments we can afford. Also the job listings." Andy scowled, "Don't tell me I have to get a job at McDonald's."

"You don't have to get a job at McDonald's." Aldo confirmed.

"Good"

"You have to get a job at Funy Burger."

"Why me?" He beseeched the heavens. "I'd rather live in a cardboard box under a bridge than work at Funy Burger." After a moment he looked back at Aldo with a thoughtful look. "What about the ADP?"

"What about 'em?"

"I could get a job with them."

"Buh HUH?!"

"I majored in law enforcement, remember?"

"Yeah, but the ADP?" Aldo shook his head. "They have a nasty tendency to become collateral damage. N-Police would be safer."

"But it is the ADP that defends the people from rampaging boomers." Andy tapped a newspaper printout he had gotten. ADP SAVE CHILDREN the headline read. The story had been very vivid. Andy could almost see what happened. A mannequin boomer had gone berserk in a mall, entered a video arcade, and trapped a number of children. The ADP arrived and managed to subdue it and rescue the children. A fairly simple case, the boomer had neither armor nor weapons.

But still, that boomer must have seemed as fierce as a combat model in the flashing lights and chaos of game sounds of the arcade. The kids must have huddled, desperately praying that their heads wouldn't be bashed on the whim of a mad cyberdroid.

Andy wound down his imagination, and returned his attention to his friend. Aldo recognized the look that Andy's face held in the rare times he was serious.

"Okay, let's look up ADP applications. I know they're hiring... They're always looking for warm bodies. Maybe they'll give you a higher pay grade for having a college education? You don't need a college degree to join the force in Japan." He was suddenly reminded of something. "Though that's one good thing."

"What?"

"Lots of anime in Japan! And I've get to catch up with over 30 years worth!"

A look of understanding came across Andy before transforming into an evil grin, "Ah, which means you can finally get all the Pokemon stuff you want, huh?"

Aldo blinked, "Poke..." and suddenly gagged. "Andy!" He leapt after the already fleeing man. "Die!"

Aldo ran half a block when something caught his eye.

"What the..." He stopped and stared at the store's sign. "Flights of Fantasy." It can't be Twister's..." A fanfiction he had read, Twisted Path, had a store by the same name. "This is a used bookstore and the time is all wrong." Andy forgotten, he stepped up to the door. "Still, I have to see what's inside." He entered with store to the chime of the door alarm.

He looked around. Shelves piled high with books occupied the majority of the space leaving him with a cramped feeling. He smiled, just enough to be cozy. There was a counter with register and computer behind which no one stood. A white translucent curtain barred the way to a back room. The owner must have stepped back there. Aldo mused. Oh well, I can start browsing anyway.

"Aldo, I've been expecting you."

"Gah!" Startled, Aldo tried to spin around, his hand caught on a bookshelf, accidentally knocked down several books from a shelf and unbalancing him. He waved his armed wildly to recover his balanced. "Zarkin' Maker!" A steadying hand grabbed his shoulder. He looked into a disturbingly familiar face. "Huh? Do I know you?"

"You don't recognize me?"

"Uh... maybe?"

"You must remember giving me..." The man tapped a peculiar diamond-within-diamond tattoo on his forehead. Similar markings adorned his cheeks.

Aldo stared at the marks for a long moment before realization struck him. "Freddy!" he exclaimed in astonishment.

"Took ya long enough to figure it out." The fellow identified as Freddy said sardonically.

Aldo leaned close to Freddy's face, who leaned back, squinting as he examined his alternate-self's face. "Yeah, I guess we do look a bit alike."

"Just a bit, huh?" With the exceptions of clothing, the glasses on Aldo's nose, and the tattoos on Freddy's face, an outside observer, would have called them identical. As they should be, they were alternate selves from different universes.

"You've grown." Aldo observed.

"You think that because you stop writing, the characters will enter stasis?" Freddy shook his head. "I've grown a great deal since we last met."

"Met? Grown?"

Freddy released Aldo's shoulder and made his way to the back of store with Aldo following. "Yes, you haven't written it yet, but I did meet you a long time ago. Gods age a few orders of magnitude slower than humans. And considering that you began writing about me when I was mentally and physically 14 years old, and I now look to be the same physical age as you..." Freddy trailed off meaningfully as he stepped behind the counter.

Aldo nodded and gazed at Freddy across the glass counter. "Okay, so you're a older, and more knowledgeable, and probably wiser than me. So read my mind and answer my questions."

"Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to preserve life."

Aldo frowned. "Wait, no extradimensional threat or anything?"

Freddy smirked. "So eager to plunge into the hard tasks?"

"Um, but this isn't your job. Your concern is interdimensional matters. In fact, I'd argue that what you're doing now is against the rules."

"Not quite. I was able to receive permission from the Almighty. Consider this a... trial run. Should you prove to be successful in this venture, I assure you, I'll have further missions for you."

"A trial run, huh?" Aldo looked thoughtful.

"I need someone who won't try to get involved with the Knight Sabers. You could have joined them. That excuse you gave Andy was weak at best. I know your... our pride. In this case it fit my purposes. Though you know, you should get rid of it; it might get someone killed someday."

Aldo ignored the last comment. "But still, I'm well aware that I'm not the most reliable person in the world."

"Really? Ever have someone's life depend upon you?"

"Er..."

"You'll get used to it, and I think you'll grow and prove yourself."

"That's a lot to expect."

"Hey, it happened to me. I grew up."

"Why Mr. Bower, too?"

"Because you don't have a chance by yourself."

"Er..."

"I'm not permitted to give you the advantages you'd need in order to accomplish your mission by yourself, and you're morally and emotionally and socially incapable of seeking the help you'd need."

Aldo grinned at Freddy. A grin that Freddy knew was concealing a number of emotions. "Okay, I can't deny that. It should have been obvious to me."

"Here's the situation. As I'm sure you've discovered, you both have records, although a bit modified from what you remember. You both were born approximately 22 years ago. Neither of you have any surviving family and have been surviving off of family inheritances. Both of you enlisted in the U.S. Army National Guard. You met in college. Mr. Bower graduated a year ago, majoring in law enforcement and went to Japan after his enlistment with the Guard finished to join an exciting new police division that had only recently started accepting international applications. You graduated a semester later as a computer science major and decided to join your friend in Japan to see what there was to see. You both decided to room together and have been doing odd jobs ever since.

"You'll probably want these." Two wallets were handed over. The moment that both of them had their hands on the wallets Freddy spoke. "Remember you and Andy don't have to accept this mission. If it ever gets too dangerous, you just have to contact me."

"Er, thanks." Aldo pocketed them.

"You're welcome, a watch out for that first step, it is a doozy."

Aldo left the store a little dazed.

"RUUUUUUUU..." and Andy came running up.

"UUUUUU..."

"Hey! Where did you go?" Aldo demanded as Andy ran past.

"UNNNNN..." Aldo looked curiously after his rapidly retreating friend.

BOOM! A hapless car blew up.

"Wah!" Aldo tripped and fell face first onto the sidewalk, knocking him out.

"Damn it, why did I get dragged into this? This is your fantasy, not mine!" Andy was pelting away from the destruction. He didn't know where the boomer came from. In the anime it seemed that crazed robots were attacking the city on a daily basis. The knowledge hadn't prepared him for the reality. One moment the day was normal, people were going about their business. The next, that thing was in the middle of the street and throwing a car into a shop. He risked a glance behind him. "Aldo?" Aldo wasn't following. He slowed to a stop and scanned the street. There! Right in the middle of the brawl, his friend was seemingly ignoring the danger as he watched the fight between the boomer and female-shaped metal forms that could only be the Knight Sabers.

"Oh, you're gonna owe me, Aldo." Andy ran back into the danger zone.

Consciousness returned to Aldo and ,dazed, he was able to push himself up to his hands and knees. He felt a trickle of blood drip down the side of his nose, and his glasses were bend out of shape with the lenses badly scratched.

He saw the most beautiful thing in the world.

It was a dance. That was the only thing Aldo could call it. Perfectly choreographed, they dodged attacks then struck together in combos that kept the boomer off balance.

There was another explosion close by which went ignored by Aldo. The shockwave flowed over him and he stared in frozen awe. He was only faint aware of the throbbing pain in his head

The green hardsuit... 'Linna' his mind helpfully supplied, leaped in close and sliced off the boomer's arm with the monofilament ribbons trailing from her helmet. She leaped away to allow Priss in her blue hardsuit to fire a burst from her railgun into the boomer's other arm. The boomer roared in fury and charged after Priss.

"Symphonies could be written to this." Aldo thought.

"Let's get you out of this." An electronically modulated voice, though not modulated enough to hide the feminine tone, spoke. Still dazed and unable to draw his eyes from the fight, he was only vaguely aware of someone picking him up and the sickening sensation of rapid acceleration.

Andy saw the Knight Saber pick up Aldo. Together, they jumped onto the rooftop of a nearby building.

"HEY!" Andy ran down the alley next to the building they had gone on top of. A fire escape ladder with a dumpster underneath. He grabbed the edge of the dumpster and pulled himself on top the edge. Balancing precariously, he reached for the edge of the ladder. Just out of reach. Grimacing, he bent his knees and jumped. He grabbed the second rung and grunting he pulled himself up. He quickly scaled the rest of the way.

On top of the roof he saw Aldo sitting, looking a bit out of it. The Knight Saber was nowhere in sight.

"Oh carp, you're bleeding!" Andy rummaged through his backpack and pulled out his first aid kit.

In the aftermath of the boomer attack, the ADP arrived for clean up. Fortunately, Andy was able to flag down one of the Firebee helicopters and they were picked up and taken to a hospital where they spent the night.

"It was incredible, Mr. Bower!" Aldo was enthusiastically recounting the battle from his hospital bed. "It was better than the anime!"

"Though, unlike watching an anime, you nearly got killed."

"Yeah, I know! My first concussion!"

"No, Aldo, listen." Andy looked grave. "That was dangerous. You could have died. I think we should figure out a way to go back home."

"What? We can't do that, we just got here!"

"Yeah, not even a day and you get sent to the hospital. Aldo, what if it was the morgue? Besides, what about my family? School? My life? Am I just supposed to forget about all that? We have to get out of here."

Aldo stared at a crease in the bed sheets. He smoothed it out. A minute dragged out. Finally, without raising his eyes he spoke. "Mr. Bower, something happened before the battle. I met someone I knew from home."

Andy blinked, "What?"

"Freddy."

"Freddy?"

"I wrote stories about him." Aldo finally looked up at Andy. "Remember? I showed you a few of those Ah! My Goddess fanfics."

"THAT FREDDY?" Andy was astonished. "He was a character you made up. What do you mean you met him?"

"In those stories I made him a god. He was in charge of different worlds, dimensions, and timelines, and now he is the one who brought us here."

"Really? Then he can send us back."

Aldo silently and quickly came to a decision. "No, Mr. Bower. We can't go back yet. Freddy brought us here for a reason. There is something that only we can do." The mix of lie and truth sounded unnatural to his ears. "God gave Freddy permission to do this because it is important. We have to do this, Mr. Bower."

A long quiet minute past as the two stared at each other. Finally, Andy nodded.

"Okay, what do we have to do?"


	2. Project Brief

"Welcome to Freddy Isnot's Operation: Make the World a Better Place! I am Freddy Isnot, God of the World as Myth. Today I am introducing you to my brilliant plan to bring to end poverty, bring peace to nations, and just make the world a swell place to live.

"This is the beginning phases of my plan so I'm starting out small. Bring a couple of new people into this world, also known as Bubblegum Crisis. To be completely honest, this whole 'fictional realities' thing is kinda new to me, and I never got a manual for the job so I'm learning it all from scratch.

"And here is my first step, figuring out if I can really change the fates of other worlds! To achieve this I've brought two people with knowledge of the world because they've watched a cartoon. Well, one of them watched the cartoon completely, the other was force to watch parts of it. The second guy I only included because even I think this is an impossible job for one man. Even if that one man is myself!

"Yes that is right, one of them is an alternate-world version of me. Where I was recruited by the Goddess Skuld during high school, this one went on to college. It is kinda weird that he has a different name from me. Really, who names their kid, Aldo? I mean, sure his parents were the same as mine, but really?

"Aldo and my world's are also different in a very important way. I never got into these cartoons or Jap-animation or whatever they're calling it. Aldo did. And several of Aldo's favorite shows never existed in my world. In this case, Bubblegum Crisis.

"So how do I know about Bubblegum Crisis if I never watched the show? Good question. I came across this world in my *ahem* entirely involuntary travels through the multiverse (zarking demon lords). I met with the Knight Sabers, wandered the streets of Megatokyo, even bought an Buma-sheep as a pet. I think the world is a good first choice.

"Worlds can be judged on flexibility, more flexible worlds have an increasing number of alternate versions, like a tree that branches off more and more. This is opposed to worlds with a rather strict fate where certain events *have* to occur. Like water following a pipe, it has to follow the set path. If I tried to do anything in those worlds, it would be like making a crack in the pipe to allow a leak. And eventually that crack might break and destroy the entire world. So you see why I have to be careful in selecting a world.

"In terms of flexibility, Bubblegum Crisis is pretty limber. I've seen enough alternate versions to know what I'm doing is not going to break the world. All I'm trying to do is... how can I say it? I guess the best metaphor is that I want to 'prune' some bad branches away. I made some friends there, and it'd be nice to make their world a little better. When I arrived there it was bad time for me, and they helped me out. I'm just trying to return the favor in a way.

"The selection of my workers was pretty simple to my brilliant mind. I already know that I can change fate, I am a god after all. But what is the minimal amount of effort I can expend and still make a big difference? I'm no good at picking a person already in this world and exposing them to the secrets of the multiverse and teaching them what to do... I really don't have the patience or energy for something like that. Besides, when other gods do that it almost always turns into a cult or major religion, yuck. Imagine me with worshipers. So what else can I do? Well, being the God of the World as Myth means it is really easy for me to move people and things between realities. So who across the realities could I recruit and need minimal effort to compel to do the things I want them to do? Ah ha! My mind told me, who better than yourself?

"So I searched the multiverse for a version of myself who already knows about the world of Bubblegum Crisis and transported him and his best friend, because I think I deserve a sidekick, to this carefully chosen time and place. Andy might only be Aldo's sidekick, but it wasn't a casual decision to include him. The two have many skills and talents that compliment each other. And I have to admit, this is a big job I'm putting before them. In order for this.. test run to mean anything, I can only provide a little help here and there. In order to remove the temptation to help them too much I've created a set of rules to restrict my aid. Aldo and Andy will have to figure out the rules for themselves. For the most part they will have to depend upon their own knowledge, abilities, and each other to survive, much less accomplish anything.

"Fortunately, these two are already fairly well suited for this task. Both are well educated, intelligent, and adaptable. Both have U.S. Army training in combat arms due to joining the Army National Guard straight out of high school. And if not excellent in the basics of soldiery such as physical fitness and basic rifle marksmanship, they are at least competent. Aldo has added to his skills by studying martial arts, fencing, and Army hand to hand combatives. Andy is Aldo's complement in many ways. Tall where Aldo is average, fast where Aldo is slow, friendly and outgoing where Aldo is reclusive, passionate and hot tempered where Aldo is cold. Um... I also wrote down that he is good at claw machine games so he might also be a good mecha pilot. Anyway, he is a loyal friend and strives to accomplish any task as best as he can. Which is a good thing considering that I can sometimes get bored and give up in the middle of something. If I had someone like Andy around he'd probably keep me on track, which is what I'm hoping he will do with Aldo.

"To give them a chance to get ready I've inserted the two approximately a year prior to the major events that occur to the Knight Sabers. This is as close to a baseline world as I could find so they shouldn't have too many surprises while they adjust to the world and prepare.

"This test run, this Bubblegum Run, has been set up to try to make the world a better place while not wasting energy and minimal amount of interference from heavenly forces. If successful, I hope to implement similar projects on a wider scale. In the case of failure, I am estimating only a small number of bugs in the System. Thank you for listening to my presentation.

Freddy dropped his note cards on the podium, and scratched a itch on his nose he'd been resisting the entire presentation. "So, Sir... That's where I'm at right now in my project. My next update will be in about a year as Aldo and Andy enter the main event." He looked up hopefully, "Any hint on how it is going to go? No? Darn. Well, see you in a year, Sir." Freddy and his presentation vanished from before the Almighty.


	3. Gangsters of Megatokyo

It was early morning. It was that quiet time when even large cities slowed down. The sun had not yet broken the horizon, but the sky was beginning to glow with the promise of dawn. The streets were as empty as Megatokyo ever became, only the occasional car carrying. In a rather unsavory part of town, two young men were huffing as they sprinted down the sidewalk, side by side. One of them was clearly taller and running easier, but the shorter man kept up, running as if the hordes of hades were on his heels.

"YOU'ZE AIN'T GITTING AWAY DAT EASY!" A flurry of cat calls and threats of violence followed.

No demonic horde, just a gang of thugs, but that didn't ease the two men's fears.

"This is... YOUR fault!" Andy gasped as they kept up their straight sprint.

"Me?" Aldo grunted as he struggled to keep up. "Was.. Following you!"

Hoots and hollers were thrown at them by the Megatokyo street gang the two had stumbled upon during their early morning job. Literally, they were cutting through an alley when Aldo had kicked a trash can, stumbled and tripped over four faux-leather-clad punks suffering hangovers sitting in the filth of the alley. Aldo apologized and had two knives, a pair of brass knuckles, and, of all things, a cyberarm with a power drill attachment pulled on him.

At first, Aldo was astonished. Only two week into their stay in Bubblegum Crisis, this was the men's first encounter with the gangs of Megatokyo. Aldo turned to Andy with this "Are they kidding?" look on his face. What followed was a parody of diplomacy. Andy would try to placate them while Aldo kept provoking them, followed by Andy trying to shush his friend.

"Shut up, Aldo!"

"But why? They're just drunk idiots." The reality of the situation just didn't seem to register with Aldo.

It was one half-filled trash can, a knocked out punk (the one with the cyber-arm), and a dozen reinforcements for the original four before Aldo was finally convinced of the dire reality.

And so it was the rapidly brightening glow of the pre-dawn sky that met the two young men running, if not for their lives, then at least to avoid severe bodily injury.

Normally, it would not be much of a feat for the two very fit young men to outrun a group, and with the group drunk or high it should have been laughable easy. However, it seemed that more than one member of the gang had extensive cybernetic enhancements. At least three kept up when the others dropped out, loping behind, content to keep up their game. Another pair hopped on a motorcycle at some point and were continuously revving their engine to add to the noise.

"We need..." Aldo was heaving for breath at this point. "A cop."

"Well, there aren't any around since you dragged us into the bad part of town to go running!"

It was an testament to Andy's character that he hadn't left Aldo behind. Where Aldo was able to do push ups and sit ups forever, Andy was built to be a runner. It was a point of pride for him that he could leave Aldo eating his dust in any race.

"Go. Get. A. Cop."

Andy spared a glance over. "What?"

"Can't keep up. Shopping zone. That way." Aldo began to slow, Andy slowed with him. "GO!" Aldo whacked the other man across the back, and, startled, Andy jumped forward. "Come back with a cop!"

Aldo staggered to a stop as his friend sprinted away. "Hurry it up, Mr. Bower." He gasped before turning to face the gang as they drew up in a semi-circle around him.

"Your buddy left you to die."

Hands on his knees, he kept an eye on the gang as he slowed his breath till the wheeze disappeared and became controlled and even.

"You hear that you stupid mo'fooker?"

Aldo slowly straightened up his body, "Well I forgot to get him a card for Christmas so now we're even." He reached across his body with one arm and began stretching it. "Give me a few moments and I'll get around to kicking your butts."

This is it, Aldo. He thought to himself as he warily eyed his opponent. This guy has probably been in more street brawls than I've ever dreamed of. The only chance I've got is by being more aggressive.

*WHAM* "FREAKIN' MAKER!" Aldo cried out in pain as the enhanced fist slammed through his block like a hammer through wet tissue paper.

There was the unmistakable whine of overcharged servos as the guy posed and flexed his arms. "I guess you don't know me. I'm Steelfist, there is no fist that hits faster or harder than mine."

Steelfist? Where the zark is Twister when you need him? This guy is practically the whipping boy of Bubblegum Crisis fanfiction. Of course with the usual self-insert character this chromed-out street punk wouldn't stand a chance. Man, I don't even have martial arts training by Ranma. Oh well, go with what you know.

Aldo rush in, avoiding one wild swing before getting in too close for Steelfist to take advantage of his reach or mechanically-strengthen punches. Dropping to a knee, Aldo hugged his opponent's leg and stood up while jerking the leg out.

Surprised by the tactic and unable to maintain his balance Steelfist landed heavily on his back, the wind knocked out. Aldo followed him down to the ground, not giving him a chance to recover. It was a testament to his toughness and experience that Steelfist wasn't finished there. Straddled his chest, Aldo yanked the collar across the windpipe and arteries in the neck and pulled tight, but in the seconds it took for the blood to be cut off to the brain, Steelfist managed to seize Aldo's wrists and with overwhelming strength pull them from his neck. Wincing at the pain of the grip, Aldo twisted his hands free and the fight continued.

Aldo kept the fight on the ground trying to grab and achieve positions of dominance. Trying for an eye gouge it was intercepted and countered with a mechanical thumb digging into a pressure point on his hand which he reversed into a wrist lock. However, not being normal flesh and bone wrist, the lock didn't achieve much. Aldo quickly realized he was much more skilled in technique, but it was taking all of his training to keep up and adapt.

Aldo focused on performing his techniques perfectly and mentally reviewed the moves he was putting into effect. Anything less than perfection would be disastrous. The Mount, his mind recited as he achieved that position. Straddling the opponent on your knees while the opponent is on his back. Keep your knees in tight and up high in the opponent's arm pits to restrict the opponent's arm movement and feet out to prevent the opponent from grabbing a foot. Kinda like he just did. Steelfist's arms apparently could reach further than normal humans, and, managed to snag one of Aldo's feet, he tossed Aldo off his body. Fortunately, Aldo had a firm grip on Steelfist's collar and dragged the man with him, falling back into...

The Guard, legs wrapped around the opponent's torso and used to control the opponent's distance. Use the legs to pull the opponent in close when you want to strike. Aldo popped Steelfist a quick one on the temple that he quickly shook off. Or to push your opponent away. He stretched out his body to keep his head out of range of the chrome fists. Steelfist quickly realized he couldn't reach that face he wanted to break and grabbed for Aldo's collar intending to pull his target to him and began to stagger to his feet. If the little bastard wouldn't let go he'd smash him against the ground AND beat the living daylight out of him. Which puts Steelfist in position for...

Scissor sweep. Aldo dropped one leg to the floor and slide the other one high on Steelfist's chest. His hands grasped Steelfist's reaching arm and collar on the same side as his dropped leg and by scissoring his legs while yanking on the collar his staggering opponent, already top heavy because of the metal arms, lost his balance and rolled onto his side, followed closely by Aldo rolling with him into...

The Mount. Back where we started, oh joy.

The fight degenerated to Aldo achieving a position of strength from which he'd try to perform a disabling move, Steelfist using his vastly superior strength to break free, then Aldo rolling with the punch into another position of strength. He was trying to not give Steelfist the chance to attack, but Aldo was still absorbing damage, without the strength to deal it back. The only wall between him and panic was that silently whispering voice reciting every move he made. His left arm went numb from blocking a jab, his ears were ringing and his head pounding from being boxed. There were more injuries, but the adrenaline and endorphins were keeping him mostly pain-free and still fighting.

Finally, Aldo tried for another choke. Again the Mount, Aldo grasped both sides of Steelfist's leather jacket collar and making fists he used the collar to create the leverage to dig his knuckles into the sides of Steelfist's neck, cutting off blood and air to the brain. The Nutcracker choke. This time, to further distract his opponent, he removed all distance between them, pressing his chest into Steelfist's face with the weight of his body and with the grip on the collars pulled Steelfist's head up and moving together with his body, he slammed it against the ground. His body smothered Steelfist's face while the chokehold cut off the blood. All Steelfist could think to do with his opponent so close was to use the his mighty arms again and wrapped them around Aldo's back in crushing bear hug while his legs flailed attempting to roll away, buck his opponent off, anything. For seconds Aldo felt his ribs and spine crack as the pain threatened to make him insensate.

Then it was over.

Aldo rolled off the unconscious Steelfist to the side, dazed and desperately trying to stop the world from spinning.

"FUCK YOU, ASSHOLE!" One of the gang yelled. Aldo looked up, the encircling gang members had been standing in shock, even as their leader laid screaming on the ground. The reality of their strongest member being defeated hitting them almost as hard as one of Steelfist's punches had hit Aldo. Now they were waking up from their shock. And they were pissed.

He would deny it later, but a sound very close to a whimper escaped from his lips.

"You'ze be dog meat." They closed in.

*****

Nene didn't particularly enjoy her job in the ADP. Sylia was the one who encouraged her to take the ADP examination, citing the usefulness of a member of the Knight Sabers in the police force and emphasizing the excitement of being a spy. The ADP examination had been child's play, in fact she had to hack the computers to record a lower score than what she had earned.

"I'm a sucker." Nene hung her head despondently. She was currently on a punishment detail, early morning traffic duty, for her last time at the firing range. It wasn't her fault she hadn't joined the ADP or the Knight Saber to shoot things. Her talents laid in the realm of the mind. Stifling a yawn she sat in her mini electric patrol car waiting for the morning rush hour to start.

*BAM* "AHHH!" Nene let out a shriek as something hammered at her mini's windshield hard enough to shake the vehicle. Gulping a couple deep breathes she stared at the wreck of a man yelling and wild-eyed outside her car. He was dressed in a baggy running outfit literally dripping with sweat. His wild eyes stared into hers and she could only stare back into them, temporarily paralyzed by fright and his brown eyes. They looked so desperate and full of fear. Lost in those eyes it took a moment for her to realize he was yelling.

"My friend needs help!" He was pointing down the street. "Some gang attacked, and we need to go save him!"

The words spurred Nene into action. Starting the motor to her police mini with one hand she gestured with other for the man to enter the passenger side. "Get in. Where is this?" The man collapsed in the seat and pointed. She barely allowed him to close the door before taking off, tires squealing.

*****

Aldo was rolled over onto his back, and he look up fuzzily "Bower?" Andy appeared in triplicate and spinning along with the rest of the world.

"Crap, Aldo, what did they do to you?" The gang had vanished by the time the police car had reached the scene, evidently scared off by the siren. All that was left was a bloody and battered Aldo unable to move.

Andy was hurriedly laying out the first aid kit and trying to find something recognizable as painkiller. Unfortunately, his outdated medical knowledge was baffled by the medical technology of the year 2031. Nene, pushed Andy out of the way and began pulling items out of the kit. At a loss, Andy knelt beside his friend while Nene began applying her, admittedly rudimentary, first aid skills.

"It really freakin' hurts, Mr. Bower." Aldo's voice was garbled. He weakly spat some blood, managing to dribble it down his cheek. "Bubblegum Crisis is a pretty tough place." He said, this time his voice a little clearer.

"Shut up, moron. This is not some stupid anime or movie, you are not going to die right here in front of me."

"I'm dying?" Apparently the prospect hadn't entered into Aldo's mind.

"Oh carp! That's not what I meant!"

Aldo seized Andy and Nene by their sleeves, forcing them to halt their actions and look at him. "If I don't make it..." He gasped, trying to draw breath.

"You're fine." Andy tried to reassure his friend.

"Promise me..." Aldo wheezed.

"Sir, you should let us go so we can treat you." Nene tried to release the bloody hand from her blouse.

"Promise me... You'll get together, have a kid, and name it after me." Aldo finally blurted. His head fell back on the ground, apparently exhausted from the effort.

Both Andy and Nene blinked, shocked at the request. Andy glanced at Nene before coughing uncomfortably. The sound shook Nene and she blushed, looking everywhere except at the man next to her.

"Uh, I think he's just hallucinating or something." Andy said.

"Er, right. I'm sure it is just his injuries talking." Nene was just realizing that despite the baggy running outfit and the unshaven stubble, the man next to her was handsome and with a lean and athletic body.

"Well, maybe not only the injuries. He always says crazy things."

Nene looked at him. "Yeah, crazy." With the desperation gone, his eyes were very warm.

"Hey!" Aldo interjected, distracting both of them. "Try to save my life first!"


End file.
